


Fair Weather

by Geonn



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood Drinking, Domestication, F/F, Mission Fic, Multi, Vampires, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-16
Updated: 2012-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-29 16:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/321653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Helen seeks to renew old contacts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fair Weather

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of my story "The Furies."

Charlotte took off her fedora and dropped it onto the table as she took her seat. The uneven legs of the chair nearly ruined her suave entrance, but she saved it by flattening her palm on the table with a loud slap. It served to make Bedri, the Turkish man across from her, blink in surprise, so she played it off as intentional. She wore a safari shirt under a leather jacket, part of her attempt to become confident by looking like Indiana Jones. Bedri took a nut off his plate, cracked it with the sharpened nails of his thumbs, and put the shell to his mouth to suck the meat out. He nonchalantly discarded the shell before meeting Charlotte's gaze.

"I have been thinking."

"Uh-oh." Charlotte smiled. Bedri did not.

He picked up another nut. "I have been thinking that you have no stage on which to stand. For years, more years than I have been alive, the troops of the Sanctuary have used Helen Magnus as a boogeyman to frighten us into doing their bidding. 'Do not overstep your bounds, or Helen Magnus will be watching. Do not break the laws of the Normals or Helen Magnus will stop you.' Now, you are attempting to frighten with a ghost."

Charlotte scanned the bar around them. There were a half dozen people in the restaurant, most of them in the bar. But one of the men who had been reading the paper until that point put it down with exaggerated calm. Charlotte suddenly realized how very much in danger she was.

"The era of the Sanctuary has ended. It had to happen eventually. Those who try in vain to keep it alive by invoking the late Helen Magnus have to be taught a lesson. We will not fear specters. We will not be cowed by the threat of a ghost. And, Dr. Benoit, I am afraid you have been chosen to be that example."

Charlotte's heart was pounding. She hoped he couldn't see the throb of her pulse in her throat as she leaned back. "So you _don't_ know about a shipment of red-list Abnormals held up in the Suez Canal?"

"Necessary bait to draw one of the Sanctuary's top authorities to our shores. It is nothing personal, Dr. Benoit, you must believe that. Personally, I hoped Declan Macrae would be the one who came. I would have found it thrilling to match wits against a member of the SAS." He sighed heavily. "I do not relish the idea of killing a woman, especially one as lovely as you." Bedri slowly stood, as did four of the men at the bar. Charlotte remained seated. "This would be best if you were to get on your knees."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Men like to think that, don't they? He doesn't know anything."

Before Bedri could even question to whom she was speaking, a canister flew through the front window of the bar. It had already erupted in a thick blue-gray cloud of smoke, immediately obscuring the side of the room where it landed. Charlotte stood and lifted her fedora, flashing the underside to Bedri. He looked at it and Charlotte squeezed the release to send a cloud of aerosol spray into his face. He shrieked and recoiled, freeing Charlotte to drop into a crouch and make a rush toward the door.

Bedri grabbed her, his eyes bloodshot and watering as he dug his fingers into the material of her jacket. Charlotte went down and he fell with her, pinning her to the hardwood floor of the tavern with his bulk. Charlotte rolled onto her back, putting her face-to-face with the furious Turk. He snarled, showing two missing teeth on either side of his lower jaw. She watched as it unhinged and his tongue withdrew to make room in his mouth for the creature sharing his body.

Before it could strike, a leather boot impacted the side of Bedri's head and knocked him off of Charlotte. She took Ashley's offered hand and let herself be hauled up. Ashley wore her typical field gear: a leather jacket and jeans, with knee-high boots and motorcycle gloves. Her look was accessorized on this mission by a stylish gas mask with the filter extending to the side.

Bedri's men were already discombobulated by the gas, so Kate and Afina had no problems taking them out on their own. Kate wore a mask identical to Ashley's, but Afina strode through the chemical as if it was a foggy morning. Ashley escorted Charlotte out into the fresh air where the Jeep was waiting. Charlotte climbed into the cab and leaned back so the driver could address Ashley directly.

"Kate knows the nearest safe house. Get Bedri and his men there; we have people in place who will know what to do with them."

"Got it. Get out of here. We can handle this."

Helen Magnus nodded and Charlotte closed the door. The engine growled and grunted as Helen shifted gears and pulled away from the tavern. Smoke was rising from the shattered windows as Ashley went back inside to help her team. A crowd was gathering, but Helen knew the women - along with Bedri's attack team - would be gone before any authorities arrived.

Charlotte spent the first few minutes of the ride coughing the chemical smoke from her lungs. When she could finally speak, she looked at Helen.

"You were right."

"Bedri's always been a bit of a wild card. I suppose now I know where his true loyalties were. The downside of ruling by fear, I suppose."

Charlotte took a canteen from the seat and swished the water around in her mouth before swallowing. It was a balm to her throat after the bar.

"People may have feared you, Helen, but a lot more respected you. Some people need to have someone frightful in charge. Some people see anything less as a sign of weakness. If you're not afraid of the person above you, then they have no right being in charge."

Helen shrugged. She was dressed in a flowing robe that hid the shape of her body, and her hair was wrapped in a maroon turban. The scarf that covered the lower half of her face had been removed so Charlotte could see her when she spoke. "An unexpected benefit of removing myself from the equation. I can truly see how people react now that I'm no longer a threat. It's eye-opening."

They went a few more miles in silence, leaving the urban center for a more rural road. The tires bounced and rocked them from side to side, forcing Charlotte to brace herself against the seat with her right hand. Helen reached across the seat and found Charlotte's left hand without looking. She laced their fingers together and squeezed.

"I do apologize for sending you to that meeting."

Charlotte shook her head. "Bedri is a coward. He claims he would have gone after whoever showed up, but he wouldn't have attacked a vampire. And Ashley and Kate have enough of an ass-kicking reputation that they might have been safe, too. He saw me as unthreatening, which made him confident enough to show his true colors."

"Still, I wish I could have been by your side." She brought Charlotte's hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles. "But apparently it wasn't necessary. You held your own admirably. I was proud."

"I'm still getting used to this whole cloak-and-dagger, James Bond sort of thing. It's thrilling. But most times afterward I sometimes feel like throwing up."

Helen smiled. "Ashley had the same reaction when I first started taking her on missions. It gets better."

"I believe you. I'm just hoping it gets better fast." She reached up to touch her hair. "Oh... I lost the fedora. I know you were looking forward to... using it... later. Marion."

Helen grinned. "It's all right, Indy. Perhaps another night."

Their borrowed farmhouse, formerly an asset of the Egypt Sanctuary, stood alone in an overgrown field. It was an unassuming building, with a row of trees lined up in front of the porch acting as a shield from casual observers. Helen could see the markings on the trunks where the trees had withstood assaults from one creature or another. Two other Jeeps were parked at the back of the house, partially obscured from the road.

Helen parked alongside the other two vehicles, which were coated with dust from the long trek they had taken to this backwater for the meeting with Bedri. Helen and Charlotte went into the house and checked to make sure it had remained undisturbed in their absence. Charlotte checked the windows and Helen, reassured that the locks hadn't been tampered with, turned her radio back on.

"Ashley? What's your status?"

"On the road. Bedri and his guys went peacefully... well, peacefully enough. We expect an ETA of twenty-one hundred hours."

Helen checked her watch. "Excellent. Charlotte and I will get packed up here and we'll be ready to leave as soon as you arrive."

"Okay. You and Charlotte behave yourselves."

Helen smiled and turned to look at Charlotte. "I'm sure we'll manage. Be safe, ladies."

"You too." Helen put the radio down on the table and sighed. "Well, we have eight hours before they're due. Would you like dinner? I believe there's something in the cupboards I could warm up."

Charlotte nodded. "That would be lovely. I'll see if we have some candles."

The house didn't have any electricity. Even if it did, Helen would be reluctant to use overhead lighting for fear of giving away their position. She searched their supplies and found enough ingredients to put together a nice meal for the two of them. She decided to make enough for Kate and Ashley to have a meal on the road and Afina... well, she tended to her own diet.

"This feels very domestic," Charlotte said when she returned. She put her arms around Helen's waist, hugging her from behind. Helen leaned back into the embrace, eyes closed as she stroked Charlotte's bare arms. "I like it. Maybe a lot."

"Good." She twisted in Charlotte's arms and kissed her. When it ended, Charlotte curled a strand of Helen's hair around her finger. "Domestic is the one thing I've never been very good at. Never really tried it, to be honest."

"What changed your mind about trying it?"

"Nothing. I've not decided to become domestic." She kissed Charlotte's nose. "It just seems to happen naturally when I'm with you."

Charlotte smiled and bit her bottom lip. "What are you going to cook for dinner?"

Helen pressed Charlotte against the fridge. "Something that requires a very long preparation... unless you're famished."

"I've never been less starved."

Charlotte gasped as Helen slid down her body.

#

Afina didn't mind driving. The machines had seemed utterly incomprehensible when she was shown one for the first time, but she quickly figured out the secrets to operating one. The monotony helped take her mind off the heat and the hunger brewing in her gut. She had one hand on the wheel and the other curled into a fist against her temple. Ashley and Kate were dozing in the seat beside her; Ashley's head was in Kate's lap, and Kate had fallen asleep while stroking Ashley's hair.

Afina could smell Ashley's arousal and knew she was having a dream of a sexual nature. She wet her lips and resisted the urge to reach over and lend a hand to the cause.

It was still mid-afternoon, and the sun was shining directly through the windshield. She reached without looking to retrieve Ashley's unneeded wraparound sunglasses and slipped them on. She could hear Bedri and his men complaining in the back of their truck. Ashley had refused her request to sate her hunger on one of the men. Afina's fingers tightened on the wheel as she recalled the conversation.

 _"They would have done far worse to Dr. Benoit."_

 _"But we're better than them."_

 _"Speak for yourself. I'm still just flirting with being one of the saints."_

The vampire flipped her hair over her shoulder. The prisoners would have been far more docile had they witnessed one of their own being drained. She didn't know their precise species, but she was always open to trying exotic foods. She wet her lips again and glanced at the girls beside her. Kate was awake and watching her. Afina rolled her eyes and turned back to the road.

"Pull over."

Afina furrowed her brow and did as instructed. As soon as the truck was in park, Kate extended her arm so that her wrist was presented to Afina.

"Something for the road."

Afina could see the throb of Kate's pulse through her thin flesh, could almost hear the rush of fluid. She closed her hand around Kate's fingers and pushed it back so that the veins were more prominent. She extended her teeth, pressed her lips against Kate's skin, and bit. Kate hissed, then moaned. She squirmed on the seat, disturbing Ashley's sleep. Ashley rolled her head on Kate's thigh and watched Afina drink.

As she drank, she was vaguely aware of the other women in the cab of the truck. She heard the rasp of a zipper, and Kate's gasps grew far more desperate. Afina pulled away from Kate's wrist with a shaky groan, dropping Kate's hand and rolling her eyes back in her head as the fresh, human blood coursed through her body. When her shudders stopped, she turned and watched Ashley withdrew wet fingers from the fly of Kate's jeans, licking them clean before she sat up. Kate was a melted mass in the corner of the bench seat, her shoulders hunched from multiple orgasms.

Afina looked at Ashley with undisguised lust. "I'm still thirsty, if you're interested."

"Drive." Ashley faced the windshield. Once Afina was underway again, Ashley quietly added, "Later."

Afina grinned, tingling at the promise.

Magnus blood was simply _exquisite_.

#

"We sort of forgot to eat."

"Mm?"

"Dinner." Helen smiled as she corrected herself, guiding Charlotte's head back to her chest. "We forgot to eat dinner."

"Just as well. My jaw is too sore to chew."

"Are you implying I'm difficult to please?"

"No, no." She kissed Helen's cleavage, which was still moist with sweat. "I could tell you were holding yourself off the edge a couple of times. It makes me work harder."

"I noticed."

Charlotte chuckled and pressed tighter to Helen's side. "Sometimes I think you just like seeing the top of my head between your legs."

"It is a lovely crown." She kissed Charlotte's hair. "But I prefer seeing your eyes when you're down there."

"Duly noted." Charlotte lifted her head, smiled, and Helen kissed her. "The girls will be back soon. We probably should at least whip something up for the road. As much as I enjoyed the distraction, I think you may just be trying to get out of showing me your domestic side."

Helen squeezed Charlotte's hip and then let her go. "Never let it be said I hid anything from you, my dear." They turned to opposite sides of the bed, finding their clothing tangled. Charlotte handed Helen her bra, and Helen gave Charlotte her right sock. When they were appropriately covered, they returned to the kitchen to prepare a meal for their ride back to the airport.

They had finished the meal and their bags were packed by the front door when the other team arrived. Helen noticed that Kate's wrist showed signs of scarring but didn't mention it. The scars would heal by the time they arrived at home. Bedri and his men had been handed over to Pili and her forces. Bedri would be tried by mundane authorities on charges of attempted murder. Members of Pili's team would ensure Bedri pled guilty.

"Another former ally bites the dust," Ashley said. "Looks like your name carried more weight than you thought."

"Yes, so it would seem." Helen tried not to let her disappointment show. For years, she labored under the belief that people respected what the Sanctuary stood for. Will's brief tenure during the Hollow Earth uprising-slash-invasion had proven that the Sanctuary meant little compared to Helen herself. She had hopes the tide would eventually turn and the organization would thrive even without her name being thrown around.

"We're all packed," Charlotte said, saving Helen from further examination. "We made some food for the road."

Afina entered the cabin wiping her hands. "The Jeeps are ready." She sniffed the air, looked knowingly at Helen and Charlotte and gestured over her shoulder. "We should go."

"Yes. The airports don't wait for me like they once did. Ashley and Kate, you can ride together. I'll ride with Charlotte."

Afina raised an eyebrow. "Leaving me all alone again?"

"You have no need for a backup driver. We'll leave the extra truck behind for the next team to pass through."

Kate and Charlotte took the packed dinners out to the trucks and Afina followed them. Ashley waited until they were gone before she approached her mother. "You know, the Magnus name is still around. I could bank on the connection, at least for a little while. No need for our contacts, both shady and not so much, to go cold turkey."

"Thank you, Ashley, but I'd much rather let the Sanctuary take its first few shaky steps without me as soon as possible. There are growing pains, as I knew there would be. The bright side is that I'm here to help my team through them. It's the perfect scenario." She put her arm around Ashley and guided her out of the cabin. She shut off the lights and locked the door on her way out.

Afina and Kate were waiting by their Jeeps. Charlotte was sitting in the driver's seat of the Jeep she and Helen would take out of the country to the airport where their plane was waiting. It would take them back to America, and then south to another meeting with another tentative ally. Whether they would prove to be a true friend or an opportunist taking advantage of the situation remained to be seen, but Helen knew her team would be ready.

"Let's get on the road, shall we?" She released her daughter so she could join Kate, and she got into the passenger side of Charlotte's Jeep. Afina pulled away first, leading the trio of vehicles out of the field and back to the main road. Helen and Charlotte brought up the rear, the last to leave the cabin.

She had faith that very soon they would have a strong stable of allies on whom she could rely on when times got difficult again. It would just take a little time to ferret out the bad ones. Some time, and a few more road trips like this one. She looked at Charlotte, whose face was lit from below by the dashboard lights.

With the company she was currently keeping, that hardly seemed like a hardship.


End file.
